well there you go then - as I said I was basing my comments on the limited coverage I had seen recently. It's certainly good to see some genuine 'quicks' coming back into the game if this is their 'average' speeds.
I think Gough will appreciate having some 'pace' around as he was in the same boat as Hadlee & Morrison both faced for NZ - a one man show (no disrespect to the other bowlers but their lack of pace blunts the effectiveness of any strike bowler).
I get concerned when we have bowlers with a good 'fast' ball being described as fast bowlers when their average is around the low to mid 130's. This to me is a good f/med pace. Similarly I dislike it when a former 'fast' bowler has dropped pace for whatever reason but is still referred to as being 'fast'. It's just a personal opinion but it sort of belittles the term or title of 'fast' bowler.
I saw a list of current 'fast' bowlers based upon top speed, where some of the deliveries had been recorded more than 4 years ago - hardly relevant even if they were still playing!!!!
I also think this explains why Lee and Ahktar are so popular with the public - genuine pace at last - they may not be so much interested in the niceties of the craft as in the sheer eye popping speed & intimidation they bring to the game - things are certainly never dull when either of them has the ball in hand.
I'm still looking to find stats on speed per delivery from international matches so as to get a better idea of a bowler's average pace per over. A 'fast' ball should be a shock tactic and a 'slower' delivery should be subtle (something Lee has yet to get the grasp of), either way they are only part of the bowler's arsenal.
Again it's just my opinion but to me it is more realistic whether or not the ball is coming at you at an average of 130 kph or 150 kph as not too many batsmen have a comfort zone much above 140 odd kph.
I guess the strength of the remaining bowlers also has an influence on whether a team can afford to have a genuine 'fast' bowler if he is expensive - no good having pace without control or penetration (see Heath Davis - great pace but waaaaay too expensive & inconsistant to have in the team).
On the other hand while Lee is not half the 'bowler' he was b4 injury (he now seems to want to blast them out rather than bowl them out - drops it too short & too wide & too often), he can be 'carried' as everyone is still taking wickets - just not big individual hauls as in the past.
OOppps - sorry, got a bit off track there.
All the better for Bond with other quicks around as he will need to develop his craft rather than just use pace to blast them out.
Cheers